Trisha Kehaulani Watson: Let’s Help Waianae ‘Houseless’ Help Themselves
The homeless encampment at Waianae Boat Harbor has a plan to build a permanent community and they deserve support from the more fortunate.
I鈥檝e never met Twinkle Borges or James Pakele, but I鈥檓 a big fan of both.
In 2004, as a graduate student, I spent some time on the Waianae coast trying to untangle the dynamics of growing 鈥渉ouselessness.鈥 I visited the residents of the makeshift village that popped up mauka of the Waianae Boat Harbor.
I quickly learned that 鈥渉ouselessness鈥 is infinitely more complex than most people understand. Many, if not the majority, of the families I spoke with recalled a path to homelessness that included being pushed out by rental prices that skyrocketed in the 1990s and early 2000s, often to make real estate available online for out-of-state buyers.
Most also worked, but their wages just couldn鈥檛 keep up with the cost-of-living. Many had shelter options with family members, but often it would have required splitting up the family, so they chose to be unsheltered rather than live apart.
In my opinion, there is a critical difference between those who are chronically homeless due to drugs or mental illness and the many families and individuals I spoke with who were simply priced out of an unaffordable housing market.
From what I see, Twinkle Borges, James Pakele, and Pu鈥榰honua o Wai鈥榓nae represent the latter: a community of families and individuals who were effectively pushed out of housing due to a societal failure to provide an adequate inventory for working class and underemployed people.
What鈥檚 also important to understand is that the chronically homeless, who have a demonstrated propensity for criminal behavior and violence, pose just as much, if not a greater, threat to Hawaii鈥檚 “houseless,” like many of those at the Waianae Boat Harbor. This chronically homeless community also has different needs, and the new program聽being implemented by the Honolulu Police Department downtown seems to be showing some promising early results.
The toolbox for addressing Hawaii鈥檚 unsheltered population needs to be diverse, but also innovative.
This is why realizing the vision to provide Pu鈥榰honua o Wai鈥榓nae with a safe and secure site is so important. This is a solution for the community – by the community. I firmly believe that those of us who have been fortunate enough not to be priced out of housing in Hawaii owe support to those who have been forced to live unsheltered.
It鈥檚 what island communities do; we help one another.
For years now, the leaders and members of Pu鈥榰honua o Wai鈥榓nae have been diligently working towards self-sufficiency. The vision is inspiring.
Pu驶uhonua O Wai驶anae is a village of approximately 250 people living unhoused on the leeward side of O驶ahu. A majority of residents are Native Hawaiians. It is a community-first approach to homelessness that:
- Self-organized at nearly zero cost to taxpayers.
- Gets people the help they need 鈥 medical care, social services, school supplies, food security and permanent shelter.
- Provides safety, healing, and purpose through a community of aloha.
When realized, it will mark not only an incredible achievement for these 250 people, but an important indicator that communities, when given the opportunity and resources, can create their own solutions. It will demonstrate that for people, many of them working families who have unfortunately found themselves homeless, the answer is community and not criminalization.
I have never been homeless. I have never been in danger of becoming homeless. I鈥檝e never had to worry about having enough food. I have always had access to high-quality medical care. I cannot even begin to understand many of the day-to-day struggles this community faces, but I am in complete awe of their ability to not only navigate their challenges but to also rise so mightily above them.
They are, at the time of writing, approximately $557,000 away from their $1.5 million goal. This is an achievable goal. There is a for anyone who wants to donate.
I hope people donate. Not simply because we should all want to see our fellow residents sheltered and secured, but because we should all rise to respond to their call for help. It鈥檚 what island communities do; we help one another. And I have no doubt that this effort can become a shining example of the depth of our generosity and the lasting resilience of aloha.
